Autism Awareness Month: David and Helen

This year’s theme for Autism Awareness Month was all about transforming the narrative and focusing on accepting, supporting and including Autistic people when advocating for rights and freedoms. Given that fact, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to sit down for a chat with David, one of our Autistic DHS Disability Services clients, and his support worker, Helen.??

The first thing you’ll learn about David – he loves to talk, which made interviewing him that much easier. On his ideal day, David would enjoy a delicious breakfast, often including toast with strawberry jam (excellent choice) followed by a morning walk, reading the newspaper, and chatting with his best friend (also named David!) The day is wrapped up either by watching the footy or a trivia show like The Hot Seat or The Chase.??

David praised the support he gets day-to-day and said he considers all the staff to be his friends. His relationship with Helen is particularly strong. In fact, Helen recently attended the Ed Sheeran concert with David. Considering the crowds and generally over-stimulating environment, David had a fantastic time. Helen’s support and effort in making this experience as positive as possible for David shows just how supportive Helen is of David’s independence, and how much he trusts her. Oh, and his favourite song was ‘Shivers’, by the way.??

The support that Helen and the rest of the team provide David hinges on one main factor: encouraging his independence. “David is naturally very independent, and we try to encourage that, but if he asks for help with certain things, we’re happy to support him in that,” Helen said. Another important component of David’s support is maintaining his routine, “It helps him feel comfortable and manage any anxiety, so we try to maintain that as much as possible.”?

If you take anything away from this article, let it be this: ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism’. We’re all different, whether you’re Autistic, or not. Autism Awareness Month encourages us to have more conversations about autism, that include Autistic people. There's always more to learn and understand about autism and its incredible diversity. The more conversations we have, the more misconceptions we de-bunk, and the more progress we make with social inclusion and our understanding of what it means to be Autistic.?